ASPARAGUS BEETLE

any member of the Crioceris and Lema genera, important pests of the insect family Chrysomelidae (order Coleoptera). The adult beetle is red, yellow, and black in colour and about 7 millimetres (almost 0.3 inch) long. It feeds on and deposits its oval black eggs on young asparagus plants. This pest, which was brought to North America from Europe in about 1862, thrived and became widespread in a short time because it had no natural predators. The most common species are L. trilineata, C. asparagi, and C. duodecimpunctata.